Industrialization of hybrid electric vehicle technology: identifying critical resource dimensions

The purpose of this study is to identify critical resource dimensions for the industrialization of hybrid electric vehicle technology. This study focuses on small- and medium-sized technology-based firms in Sweden that employ between 1 and 500 employees and that could be potential suppliers of hybrid electric vehicle technology. The empirical data were collected using a survey (questionnaire) and it covers 40 technology-based firms in eight industrial branches in Sweden. We have included 18 variables in order to identify critical resources regarding Business and R&D networks in three dimensions: ideas and advice, production, and R&D. Two regression models developed for battery systems and battery cells have significant findings. Networks with universities and consultants are especially important. One operative way is building strategic alliances with other firms. The main contributions of this study are empirical support that network resources are necessary and important in battery systems and battery cells and, more broadly, networks are necessary systems for technology shifts in the hybrid electric vehicle industry.     

Twenty-five years of science-industry collaboration: the emergence and evolution of policy-driven research networks across Europe

This paper aims at examining the collaborative networks established during the seven Framework Programmes on Research and Technological Development (1984–2009). These networks are the result of self-organized partnering by different participating entities (industry, universities, research centers and technology users) in subsidized research joint ventures selected on a competitive basis under the thematic priorities and funding rules imposed by the European Union. Social network analysis tools are employed in order to describe and assess the architecture, and the dynamics of the networks that were developed in the context of each Framework Programme. Analysis of organizations’ positioning in the network space will show whether there are some pivotal actors with significant policy implications for knowledge and technology transfer. Last but not least, understanding how these network are formed and how they have evolved over time may provide useful policy implications for the design and structure of the current and future EU Programmes aimed at shaping and creating a unified European Research Area.     

Inter-firm inventor mobility and the role of co-inventor networks in producing high-impact innovation

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Inter-firm mobility of inventors is a major source of embodied knowledge transfer and receiving firms enjoy additional benefits from the collaboration networks...     

Regional psychiatric boards in Israel: expectations and realities

As laid down by Israeli legislation, the Regional Psychiatric Board constitutes one of the chief instruments in the monitoring of compulsory hospitalization, of compulsory outpatient treatment and of the quality of all inpatient care of the mentally ill. This article presents the findings of a study into the working of these boards. Taking a sample of every second application (N=168) over a 6-month period to one of Israel's six existing Regional Psychiatric Boards, an examination was made of the decisions issued by the board and of other aspects of its functioning. Explanations for the findings of this analysis are suggested, and generalizing from these findings, recommendations are offered for the improvement of the future functioning of all six Boards.     

Resistance and compliance in women’s prisons: Towards a critique of legitimacy

This article explores how power is negotiated in women’s prisons. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in three penal establishments in England, the author analyses the ways by which women negotiate restrictions of imprisonment and the manner in which they attempt to resist institutional control. It is proposed that power is negotiated on a private, internalised level, as women often resist the institution simply by trying to maintain an image of control over their own lives. However, this image of themselves as active, reasoning agents is undermined by institutional constraints that encourage them to exhibit traditional, passive, feminine behaviour at the same time as they deny them their identities and responsibilities as mothers, wives, girlfriends, and sisters. The author concludes that women’s modes of resistance indicate that imprisonment is contested and embattled in ways reflecting broader, social norms of behaviour and identity, and thus, that the ‘legitimacy’ of imprisonment rests, at least in part, upon gender. I would like to thank Anthony Gerbino and Alison Liebling for their helpful comments on drafts of this paper which was presented in an earlier form at the Law and Society Conference, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, July 10–13, 1996.     

Collaborative innovation in emerging innovation systems: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Firms often lack competences and capabilities for creation and commercialization of innovations. The solution to this problem lies in sharing or acquisition of...     

Product innovation and process innovation in SOEs: evidence from the Chinese transition

This paper offers an analysis of the influence of management behavior on the relationship between factors such as market, governance and resources of a firm, and the choice of the type of technological innovation in Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The authors develop a structural equation model and 12 hypotheses and test the model and hypotheses using a sample of 274 SOEs in China. This study discovers that the choice of innovation types among Chinese SOEs depends on the turbulence in the environment, and on the organizational resources. The key contributions of the study include: testing existing theories of innovation in the context of Chinese SOEs; studying the factors that affect product innovation and process innovation in that context; and demonstrating that market forces and internal governance simultaneously influence SOE innovation.     

Non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia in The Netherlands: Dutch perspectives

During the summer of 1999, twenty-eight interviews with some of the leading authorities on euthanasia policy were conducted in the Netherlands. They were asked about cases of non-voluntary (when patients are incompetent) and involuntary euthanasia (when patients are competent and made no request to die). This study reports the main findings, showing that most respondents are quite complacent with regard to breaches of the guideline that require the patient's consent as a prerequisite to performance of euthanasia.     

Promoting electric vehicles in the Trump era: What can feasibly be done to drive electric vehicle purchases in the United States for the next two years in the current political climate

Abstract

Following the 2016 election, the electric vehicle industry will likely face heightened opposition in the coming years. This article focuses on the actions that can be taken at the federal, state, and local levels that are most likely to succeed in driving growth and acceptance of electric vehicles in spite of the current political climate.     

Legitimacy invariance and campus crime: the impact of campus police legitimacy in different reporting contexts

ABSTRACT

This paper examines whether campus police legitimacy relevance varies across different crime contexts. 519 respondents from 31 undergraduate sections at a public university rated campus police legitimacy as well as their willingness to report a campus crime to the public safety department. Students were assigned to different crime vignettes, involving experimental manipulation of crime type: petty theft, indecent exposure, aggravated assault, and gun possession on a college campus. Results indicate general support for the procedural justice model, specifically the invariance of the influence of legitimacy on reporting. This paper argues for increased specificity in measurement of cooperation beyond general willingness to assist, or a single crime context.     

Freedom of Expression in the Dutch Constitution: Censorship and Sense Construction

Models of communication,frequently used in legal semiotics, offeran analytic framework for the relationshipbetween legal rules on the one hand andcorresponding behaviour on the other.Semiotic models seek to clarify(un)successful legal communication; theytry to reveal the processes ofinterpretation and sense construction. Theessence of these models is that thesubstantive meaning of a rule can (orcannot) be transmitted in a `flow model'of information. The models are based upona linear causality of ruleinformation. In this paper, the processesof sense construction are described,taking the freedom of expression, as laiddown in Article 7 of the DutchConstitution, as an example. Although thetext of Article 7 remained unalteredsince its first drafting in 1815, itssubstantive meaning has changedfundamentally. The transformation wascaused by complex processes that tookplace in social practice. These complexprocesses with respect to Article 7 arecompared with the transformation processesanalysed with respect to Article 96 of theDutch Constitution, published in anearlier paper. A comparison between bothArticles leads to the question: `Do weneed to construct an analytical model forlegal communication in whichreciprocal relations between legislatorand citizens are highlighted?' On thebasis of the two case studies, whichdescribe the influence of social practiceon the substantive meaning of the(textually unaltered) Articles, we have toanswer the question in the affirmative.     

The sexual distribution of benefits and burdens in the household: Adolescent experiences and expectations

An examination of self-reported contributions to housework and use of resources in the home by 1296 Scottish 16- and 18-year-olds revealed sharp differences between the sexes in both areas. In only one area of housework sampled, household repairs, did boys contribute more often, and in only one area of resources, use of space for friends, did girls benefit more often. Moreover, with respect to housework, sexual inequality was inversely related to social class. Beliefs about sex roles were broadly egalitarian, but weakly related to housework done; among both male and female, contributing to more areas of housework was associated with more egalitarian beliefs. Neither access to resources nor contributions to housework were related to financial contributions made to the household. Generally, the results indicate that sex was the most powerful determinant of both housework and use of resources. It seems that young people are already extensively prepared for inequality in adult sex roles within the family by their own direct experience, if not their sex-role beliefs.     

Juvenile sex offenders in a Dutch mandatory educational programme: Subtypes and characteristics

Abstract

Significant differences between subgroups of juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) are found in both Dutch and international research. Most of this literature represents the more delinquent and more disturbed sections of the population of JSOs. This paper describes the characteristics of 302 less disturbed and less violent JSOs in a mandatory educational programme. Characteristics of exhibitionists (n=26), child molesters (n=39) and peer offenders (n=237) are compared. Peer offenders are subdivided into solo offenders (n=90) and group offenders (n=142). Variables are: demographics, family background, psychosocial functioning, offence characteristics and victim characteristics. Significant differences are found in a large number of variables, supporting findings from earlier research in clinical samples. Differences between subgroups are largest between group-offending peer offenders, on one hand, and exhibitionists and child molesters on the other hand. The majority of our sample seems to have an ordinary background and shows no apparent sign of psychosocial dysfunction. The clinical and theoretical relevance of the results is discussed.     

Convergence in the Dutch Health Insurance: Possibilities and Obstacles in a European Perspective

Convergence in Dutch Health Insurance presents possibilities and obstacles considered from a European perspective. The idea is to converge the two existing systems of social and private health insurance. Private health insurers will be obliged to offer a minimum level of health insurance cover based on community rating. In this article consequences of the EC Treaty are in focus. Extensive convergence can be legally allowed in the interests of the common good. The European Court of Justice plays a decisive role in deciding whether convergence is approved according to the rules of the EC Treaty.     

The Empire Strikes Back: Press Judges and Communication Advisers in Dutch Courts

Judges in many jurisdictions are today prepared to utilize the media to promote a better public understanding of their role. Understandably, they wish not to be perceived as 'spin doctors' intent on a cynical manipulation of public opinion. Judges' professional reputation, their public image, and public confidence in their role hinge on a belief in their neutrality and impartiality. Court communicators are also aware that their success in the media arena depends on a degree of skill and strategizing to ensure that the integrity and complexity of their message are preserved in media reports. This paper discusses how press judges (judges who also act as media spokesperson) and communication advisers in Dutch courts address this. It is argued that the media liaison function embraced by Dutch courts may be an expansion of law's empire or, at least, a possible attempt by law's empire to strike back against the pressures of an increasingly inquisitive media.